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Lifelines: Canada's East Coast Fisheries

The Cod Rush
The European Fishermen, 1497-1763
 
Fishing Concessions and Colonies
The Cod Rush: The European Fishermen, 1497-1763

 

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, permanent settlements were established along the coasts.

English and French monarchs intervened by granting concessions to aristocratic entrepreneurs, and companies such as the London and Bristol Company. The fishing proprietors were expected to attract settlers to their colonies, but few succeeded. One of them, Nicolas Denys, was granted a monopoly on trade and resources, including the fishery, in an immense territory that extended beyond the borders of Acadia.


Nicolas Denys' first settlement - 
University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery

Nicolas Denys' first settlement at Saint-Pierre, Cape Breton, in 1654
Detail from a painting by Lewis Parker
University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery, Sydney, Nova Scotia
(Reproduced with the permission of Lewis Parker, © 1982)

Nicolas Denys was given authorization to establish sedentary-fishery operations in Acadia. He was appointed governor of the territory extending from Cap des Rosiers, in the Gaspé Peninsula, to Canso, in Acadia.


These entrepreneurs hired fishermen, farm workers and tradespersons, who became the first European settlers in coastal areas. By claiming the best bays, they challenged the seasonal occupation of the beaches for drying cod and the principle of freedom to fish.


Charles Robin at Arichat - 
University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery

Charles Robin at Arichat, 1760s
Detail from a painting by Lewis Parker
University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery, Sydney, Nova Scotia
(Reproduced with the permission of Lewis Parker, © 1982)

After 1765, fishermen from the island of Jersey came in large numbers to the coasts frequented by the French. Charles Robin settled in Arichat, on Madame Island (near Cape Breton), then moved to Chéticamp. He founded Charles Robin and Company before moving to Paspébiac, on the Gaspé Peninsula. In the nineteenth century, his firm became the largest fishing company in Canada.


Louisbourg viewed from a warship - 
University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery

Louisbourg viewed from a warship, ca. 1728
Detail from a painting by Lewis Parker
University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery, Sydney, Nova Scotia
(Reproduced with the permission of Lewis Parker, © 1982)


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